Charles IV of Spain

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Charles IV
Charles IV, as Prince of Asturias, (1765), by Anton Raphael Mengs
King of Spain
Reign 14 December 1788–19 March 1808
Predecessor Charles III
Successor Ferdinand VII
Spouse Maria Luisa of Parma
Issue
Charlotte, Queen of Portugal
Maria Louisa, Queen of Etruria
Ferdinand VII of Spain
Infante Charles, Count of Molina
Maria Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies
Infante Francisco de Paula
House House of Bourbon
Father Charles III of Spain
Mother Maria Amalia of Saxony
Born 11 November 1748
Palace of Portici, Portici, Italy
Died 20 January 1819 (aged 70)
Rome, Italy

Charles IV (11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Portrait of Charles IV by Goya.

Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Portici, while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic.

Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August the Strong. When young he was fond of wrestling with the strongest countrymen he could find. While he was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous he was also known for his acts of kindness.

[edit] Reign

In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of his office and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government, occupying himself with hunting. The affairs of government he left to his wife and his prime minister. In 1792, Maria Louis finally succeeded in ousting the Count of Floridablanca from office and had him replaced with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the Aragonese party. However, in the wake of the war against Republican France, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was replaced by Manuel de Godoy, a favourite of the Queen and allegedly her lover, who would henceforth enjoy the lasting favour of the King.

Equestrian statue of Charles IV in Mexico City.
Silver 8 real coin of Charles IV, struck in 1806.

Godoy continued Aranda's policy of neutrality towards France but after Spain protested against the execution of the deposed king in 1793, France declared war on Spain and in 1795 forced Godoy to conclude an alliance and declared war on Great Britain.

In 1803, after smallpox had affected his daughter María Luísa, the king commissioned his doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis to bring the vaccine to the Spanish colonies on state expenses.

Spain remained an ally of France and supported the Continental Blockade until the the British naval victory at Trafalgar. However, After Napoleon's victory over Prussia in 1807, Godoy again steered Spain back onto the French side. This switching back and forth devalued Charles' position as a trustworthy ally while the return to the French alliance increased Godoy's unpopularity and strengthened partido fernandista, the supporters of Crown Prince Ferdinand, who favored a close relationship with Great Britain.

[edit] Abdication

When King Charles was told that his son Ferdinand was appealing to Napoleon against Godoy, he took the side of the minister. When the populace rose at Aranjuez in 1808 he abdicated on 19 March, in favour of his son,[1] to save the minister who had been taken prisoner. Ferdinand took the throne as Ferdinand VII, but was distrusted by Napoleon who had 100,000 soldiers in Spain by that time.

Charles IV found refuge in France, and became a prisoner of Napoleon: the latter, posing as arbiter, summoned both Charles IV and his son to Bayonne in April and coaxed Charles (who had a difficult time restraining himself from assaulting his son) to retract his earlier abdication and abdicate, on 5 May 1808, in favour of Napoleon.[2]

[edit] Later life

Charles was then interned in Talleyrand's castle in Valençay.[3][4] He accepted a pension from the French Emperor and spent the rest of his life between his wife and Godoy, staying briefly in Compiègne and more durably in Marseille.

In 1812, he finally settled in Rome in the Palazzo Barberini.[5][6][7][8], where he died on 20 January 1819.

[edit] Marriage and children

Charles IV married his first cousin Maria Louisa, the daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma, in 1765. The couple had fourteen children, six of which survived into adulthood:

Maria Luisa was widely considered a vicious and coarse woman who thoroughly dominated the king. During the lifetime of Charles III, she led her husband into court intrigues against the prime minister, the Count of Floridablanca.

[edit] Ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Louis XIV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Louis, Dauphin of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Maria Theresa of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Philip V of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Charles III of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Odoardo II Farnese
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Isabella of Modena
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Elisabeth of Parma
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Charles IV of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. John George III, Elector of Saxony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Augustus II the Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Anne Sophie of Denmark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Augustus III of Poland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Sophie Luise of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Maria Amalia of Saxony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Maria Josepha of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern
 
 
 
 
 
 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Articles: Period of Imperial Crisis (revised) - Historical Text Archive
  2. ^ Gazeta de Madrid de 20 de mayo páginas 483 and 484.
  3. ^ Napoleon I: Blockade and the peninsular campaign - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  4. ^ http://pcombal.club.fr/bioanglaise.html — “The Spanish affair&rqduo;
  5. ^ http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_d%27Espagne
  6. ^ Manuel de Godoy#Exile
  7. ^ Worldroots.com
  8. ^ The Royal Favorite: Manuel Francisco Domingo de Godoy, Prince of the Peace
  • Historia del Reinado de Carlos IV, by General Gomez de Arteche (5 vols.), in the Historia General de España de la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, 1892, etc.).
  • This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
Charles IV of Spain
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 11 November 1748 Died: 20 January 1819
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Charles III		 King of Spain
1788–1808		 Succeeded by
Ferdinand VII
Vacant
Title last held by
Prince Ferdinand
his uncle		 Prince of Asturias
1759-1788		 Succeeded by
Prince Ferdinand
his son
v • d • e
Monarchs of Spain from 1479
House of Trastámara (1479–1555)
House of Habsburg (1516–1700)
House of Bourbon (1700–1808)
Philip V · Louis · Philip V · Ferdinand VI · Charles III · Charles IV · Ferdinand VII
House of Bonaparte (1808–1813)
House of Bourbon (1813–1868)
House of Savoy (1868–1873)
House of Bourbon (1874–1931)
House of Bourbon (since 1975)
v • d • e
The Bourbons of Naples and Sicily
Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1738).svg
*NOTE: children born after 1816 (the union of Kingdoms) they were officially "HRH Prince/ess X of Naples and Sicily, Infante/a of Spain"; over time the style of Naples and Sicily wore off and Bourbon-Two-Sicilies or just the Two Sicilies prevailed;
v • d • e
The Bourbons of Spain
Escudo de Carlos III de España Toisón y su Orden variante leones de gules.svg
*also a Prince or Princess of the Two Sicilies
**also an Archduchess of Austria
***both
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